January 2019 Reston Rent Report

Welcome to the January 2019 Reston Rent Report. Reston rents declined over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Reston rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the metro, state, and nation.

January 2019 Reston Rent Report

Welcome to the January 2019 Reston Rent Report. Reston rents declined over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Reston rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the metro, state, and nation.

Reston rents declined over the past month

Reston rents have declined 0.1% over the past month, but have remained steady in comparison to the same time last year. Currently, median rents in Reston stand at $1,620 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,870 for a two-bedroom. Reston's year-over-year rent growth lags the state average of 1.9%, as well as the national average of 0.9%.

Rents rising across the DC Metro

While rents have remained steady in the city of Reston throughout the past year, cities across the metro have seen a different trend. Rents have risen in 9 of of the largest 10 cities in the DC metro for which we have data. Here's a look at how rents compare across some of the largest cities in the metro.

Germantown has seen the fastest rent growth in the metro, with a year-over-year increase of 4.4%. The median two-bedroom there costs $1,970, while one-bedrooms go for $1,700.

Over the past year, Waldorf is the only city in the metro that has seen rents fall, with a decline of 0.9%. Median two-bedrooms there cost $2,020, while one-bedrooms go for $1,750.

Bethesda has the most expensive rents of the largest cities in the DC metro, with a two-bedroom median of $2,440; rents grew 0.1% over the past month and 1.9% over the past year.

Frederick has the least expensive rents in the DC metro, with a two-bedroom median of $1,530; rents fell 0.2% over the past month but rose 4.4% over the past year.

Many large cities nationwide show more affordable rents compared to Reston

Rent growth in Reston has been relatively stable over the past year - some other large cities have seen more substantial increases. Compared to most large cities across the country, Reston is less affordable for renters.

Other cities across the state have seen rents slightly increase, with Virginia as a whole logging rent growth of 1.9% over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 0.8% in Virginia Beach.

Reston's median two-bedroom rent of $1,870 is above the national average of $1,180. Nationwide, rents have grown by 0.9% over the past year compared to the stagnant growth in Reston.

While rents in Reston remained moderately stable this year, similar cities saw increases, including Austin (+3.4%), New York (+2.7%), and San Francisco (+2.4%); note that median 2BR rents in these cities go for $1,430, $2,540, and $3,090 respectively.

Renters will generally find more expensive prices in Reston than most large cities. For example, Norfolk has a median 2BR rent of $950, where Reston is nearly twice that price.

For more information check out our
national report.
You can also access our full data for cities and counties across the U.S. at
this link.

City

Median 1BR price

Median 2BR price

M/M price change

Y/Y price change

Washington, DC

$1,340

$1,550

-0.1%

2.0%

Arlington

$1,800

$2,070

-0.1%

4.3%

Alexandria

$1,590

$1,840

0.2%

2.9%

Germantown

$1,700

$1,970

0.4%

4.4%

Silver Spring

$1,510

$1,740

-0.1%

0.4%

Centreville

$1,610

$1,860

-0.3%

2.8%

Waldorf

$1,750

$2,020

0.8%

-0.9%

Frederick

$1,330

$1,530

-0.2%

4.4%

Rockville

$1,730

$2,000

-0.1%

3.8%

Bethesda

$2,110

$2,440

0.1%

1.9%

Gaithersburg

$1,530

$1,770

-0.1%

2.8%

Reston

$1,620

$1,870

-0.1%

-0.0%

Bowie

$2,120

$2,450

0.4%

1.7%

Ashburn

$1,980

$2,290

0.3%

6.3%

Leesburg

$1,740

$2,010

1.6%

3.2%

Manassas

$1,500

$1,730

-0.3%

3.0%

Oakton

$1,870

$2,160

-1.0%

0.6%

Montgomery Village

$1,590

$1,830

0.3%

1.6%

College Park

$1,560

$1,800

0.6%

1.8%

Suitland

$1,320

$1,530

-0.5%

2.7%

Laurel

$1,350

$1,600

0.3%

2.6%

Fredericksburg

$1,430

$1,660

-0.2%

2.6%

Herndon

$1,900

$2,190

0.4%

0.7%

Fairfax

$1,890

$2,180

1.0%

5.0%

Hyattsville

$1,300

$1,510

-0.1%

2.0%

Falls Church

$1,460

$1,690

0.0%

-0.7%

Gainesville

$2,070

$2,390

-0.8%

0.5%

Temple Hills

$1,240

$1,430

-0.5%

3.9%

See more

Methodology - Recent Updates:

Data from private listing sites, including our own, tends to skew toward luxury apartments, which introduces sample bias when estimates are calculated directly from these listings. To address these limitations, we’ve recently made major updates to our methodology, which we believe have greatly improved the accuracy and reliability of our estimates.

Read more about our new methodology below, or see a more detailed post here.

Methodology:

Apartment List is committed to making our rent estimates the best and most accurate available. To do this, we start with reliable median rent statistics from the Census Bureau, then extrapolate them forward to the current month using a growth rate calculated from our listing data. In doing so, we use a same-unit analysis similar to Case-Shiller’s approach, comparing only units that are available across both time periods to provide an accurate picture of rent growth in cities across the country.

Our approach corrects for the sample bias inherent in other private sources, producing results that are much closer to statistics published by the Census Bureau and HUD. Our methodology also allows us to construct a picture of rent growth over an extended period of time, with estimates that are updated each month.

About Rent Reports:

Apartment List publishes monthly reports on rental trends for hundreds of cities across the U.S. We intend these reports to be a source of reliable information that help renters and policymakers make sound decisions, and we invest significant time and effort in gathering and analyzing rent data. Our work is covered regularly by journalists across the country.

We are continuously working to improve our methodology and data, with the goal of providing renters with the information that they need to make the best decisions.